Washington cornerback David Amerson was a surprise inactive for Sunday’s loss to San Francisco. Amerson hadn’t been on the injury report, and there was talk that he must have been benched for breaking some kind of team rule.
Now Amerson has explained: He says a lost phone was to blame.
According to the Washington Post, Amerson told reporters that he lost his phone, which doubles as his alarm clock, and that resulted in him oversleeping and showing up late. As a result, coach Jay Gruden pulled him from the game.
That was a costly loss for the team, as Amerson had started all 10 games until the loss to the 49ers -- and it became even more costly because Washington lost three members of the secondary to injuries during the game. Amerson said he has only himself to blame.
“I understand Coach’s decision to sit me down because things like that can’t happen,” Amerson said. “At the end of the day, it is my job to be here on time, no matter what the circumstances are.”
An apologetic Amerson said he felt terrible about his mistake.
“No one took it as hard as I took it,” Amerson said. “I felt like I was letting the whole organization down. Not being here, not being able to play, and not being on the field. Especially with all the injuries that went down. . . . At the end of the day I am responsible to be here on time, no matter what the circumstance. I definitely learned my lesson. Like I said, I’ve just got to take it upon myself, no matter what, to make sure I’m here or at work. It’s definitely a lesson learned.”
Although it’s not quite as bad as oversleeping at the Olympics and missing the start of the marathon, Amerson’s mistake was a big one. He sounds like he’s learned his lesson and will get an alarm clock as well as his phone. He just needs to make sure there’s not a separate knob for the radio alarm. And perhaps find a neighbor with a mental alarm.
